ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE English Studies => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Literature => Topic started by: MissJannine on May 21, 2012, 07:51:25 pm
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So my teacher who is an examiner... and therefore is a hard marker says my interpretation for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein needs to be stronger...
My original interpretation is that whether humanity is acquired or inherited...she said it needs to be stronger
soooooo theres this one interpretation of Frankenstein, but I don't know how to word it. It is that "The story of Victor Frankenstein Parallels and alludes the stories in the bible." I don't know how to say it though. soooo help? ideas?
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Do you mean that your interpretation needs to be stronger, or that the wording of your interpretation needs to be stronger?
If the former: locate the fulcrum of the text - in other words, the main message on which the other themes etc rest. This will be your point of reference when discussing the radiating themes and messages. Then branch out into what those radiating themes and messages are.
For example, I think that the nature of humanity (what it means to be human, the limits of what humans can and should do, etc) is the fulcrum. The theme of usurping the role of God (biblical allusions) feeds into it, as does the theme of fear of difference/the unknown; responsibility for one's actions and the responsibility of the master/parent/scientist towards the slave/child/creation also link, as does the question of what turns humanity inhumane or monstrous.
If you mean the wording needs to be stronger... well, you need to figure out exactly what you mean, first. Content comes first; wording comes second.
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Don't do a biblical reading of Frankenstein at VCE level - it borderline undercuts the principles of the VCE Literature course (I'm fairly certain intertextuality isn't really encouraged). It's also not a very sophisticated reading.
To make a powerful reading, you want to find what the text is suggesting about HUMANITY as a whole - what is it saying in a deep, profound, philosophical sense?
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If your contention is as you've stated, the only way that you could prove it is by directly comparing it to stories from the Bible. As EZ said, I'd recommend you don't do that, as intertextuality is not mentioned in the study design and would be frowned upon by most examiners.
What you could do is highlight potential biblical references within Shelley's text through your analysis of the text itself. Rather than formulating a stance on the text which relies on the bible, try to shape it around the elements of feminism and social criticism (to name a few) which very much underpin Frankenstein. Obviously Frankenstein is very much about our human nature and how it shapes our decisions and behaviour, and I think that'd be a stronger interpretation than the one you have there.